The Strangers
Not much is known about the Strangers. They have no physical bodies, but it is believed that they once did. They are also known as Krul. They inhabit the bones of dead creatures and use magic to form the flesh so that they seem to be a deformed version of the creature that the bones belonged to. They have an incredible hatred towards the living so they will not help build anything, not even engines of war. They only destroy. Experiments have been conducted where a krul was put in a room with a prisoner, and told that if he killed the prisoner, he would be killed in turn. Every time, the krul killed the prisoner. This experiment was repeated with: men, women, old men and children. The result was the same, except that they killed the children more quickly. They also have a hunger for human flesh and eating it seems to make them stronger, although it is unknown why. Their number system is based on thirteen, this is where the suspicions about the number are thought to have come from. They are rigidly bound to those numbers. For example, a meister can lead twelve krul himself, but if he wishes to lead thirteen or more he must master a thirteenth (a Daemon), which is different and more difficult. No-one really knows how they fight, but people have come up with theories. Completely outnumbering their opposition. Being strong and unwavering in their attacks. The Different types of Stranger There are many different types of Stranger. Krul The simplest type of Stranger and the easiest to control. Thirteen Krul make a Squad. When summoned as a human they are ill-proportioned. For example one is described as: "The creature was the black of a bloated corpse and man-shaped but ill-proportioned. Its arms were too long, its face too long, lower jaw jutting forward, ragged hooks of teeth stabbing up into the air from its lower jaw, mismatched black and blue eyes staring. It was massively muscled. Its skin was hairy, bordering on fur, and it had neither clothes, nor weapon. It was a krul." Daemons (White Krul) Daemons are faster, over six feet tall, and take more magic to raise. They command a Squad. Thirteen Daemons (and therefore Squads) make a Platoon. A Platoon is One Hundred and Sixty-Nine Krul. Bone Lords Bone Lords command Platoons. They speak well, they are smarter, tough and can use rudimentary magic. Their magic is not the Vir but a Talent of some sort. Thirteen Bone Lords make a Legion. A Legion is Two-Thousand, One Hundred and Ninety-Seven Krul. Fiends Fiends command Legions. Thirteen Fiends make an Army. An army is Twenty-Eight Thousand Five Hundred and Sixty-One Krul. It is assumed that they have ever greater amounts of magical skill. Arcanghuls (Arcanghulus) Arcanghuls command Armies. They can be named, the only known named Archanghul is Ba'elzebaen, the Lord of Serpents. Ba'elzebaen was described as being easily 7ft tall with emerald eyes, gold hair that came to his neck and silver skin that did not look metallic or otherwise. Night Lords Night Lords command Thirteen Arcanghuls (Three Hundred and Seventy-One Thousand Two Hundred and Ninety-Three Krul). They were said to have been discovered by Godking Roygaris. Titans A Titan is believed to command Thirteen Night Lords (Four Million Eight Hundred and Twenty-Six Thousand Eight Hundred and Nine Krul, 4,826,809 krul). Although it is debatable of its status, as Dorian believed that it ranks two or three above an Archangulus, and yet during Khali's re-incarnation it is said that when she raised the sealed army of Krul, the Titan and 'several others similar' also returned. It was sealed by Jorsin in a great dome during The War of Shadow. ??? It is unknown what would happen if Thirteen Titans were put together (Sixty-Two Million Seven Hundred and Forty-Eight Thousand Five Hundred and Seventeen Krul, 62,748,517 Krul). Nothing may happen, as the Titans may be the final incarnation of Krul. There may only be one Titan so it is impossible to get Thirteen Titans, or there may not be enough people in the world to make another one - let alone another eleven after that. The next step may be so powerful that it conquers all of Midcyru, or even The World. The different Titans could destroy each other instead of sharing ultimate power so the next, and possibly final stage, could never be created, but as no other Stranger is hostile to each other this seems unlikely. Khali Khali was originally thought to be a very powerful Stranger, but is in fact merely an 'ally' of The Strangers, and not actually a Stranger. She is said to have destroyed Godking Roygaris after he created the Titan, and then she became the Khaildoran Goddess. Khali gave the Khalidorans the Vir to bind them to her and make them destroyers. When Khali was re-incarnated it is said that when she raised the sealed army of Krul, the Titan and 'several others similar' also returned. The War of Shadow Jorsin Alkestes and Ezra the Mad managed to stop the tyrant Roygaris Ursuul, and his army of nearly five million krul in The Battle of Shadow. Elsewhere Roygaris' army would have suffered losses in the day and be remade in the night. That alone made them almost invincible. During this time Trace made a pact with the Strangers to save herself and the consequences of being a potential sacrifice for the black Ka'kari, a choice that would later define her as the 'goddess' Khali. But Jorsin Alkestes and Ezra the Mad somehow warded all of the great city of Trayethell and leagues around it so that the Krul could not be raised there. This area is now known as "Black Barrow" and prevents the flow of time from affecting the objects sealed there. It is south-east of Khalidor but it was never inhabited. No one lives within leagues of it, as nothing can grow. Category:Magic